Hanukkah begins Dec. 6 and tree lighting Dec. 12
Each night from Sunday, Dec. 6, through Sunday, Dec. 13, at Polhill Park in Beacon, the different candles of the Hanukkah menorah will be illuminated. In this case, they will be represented by wheels on the bicycle menorah sponsored by Beacon Hebrew Alliance and BeaconArts.
The menorah will be lit each night at 5:30 p.m. from Sunday, Dec. 6 through Sunday, Dec. 13, with the exception of Friday, Dec. 11, which will be earlier. Each lighting will celebrate various members of the community, including artists (Dec. 6), farmers and food (Dec. 7), teachers (Dec. 8), planet protectors (Dec. 9), volunteers (Dec. 10), entrepreneurs (Dec. 11), clergy (Dec. 12), and builders, makers and fixers (Dec. 13). A community Hanukkah party will also take place on Dec. 13.
The lighting of the adjacent bicycle Christmas tree sponsored by BeaconArts and the City of Beacon will take place on Second Saturday, Dec. 12. At 3 p.m., the Wee Play Community Project will organize a simple craft for younger children under the shelter of tents provided by the City of Beacon. At about 4 p.m., children from the Beacon City School District will celebrate with music and dance and at 4:30 p.m. Santa will arrive via a pedi-cab provided by Peoples Bicycle.
“Bicycles, like communities, are powered by people,” says Ed Benavente, who conceived and fabricated the bicycle menorah and tree with recycled parts. The tree has doubled in size since its first lighting in 2011. Polhill Park is located next to the Beacon Visitors’ Center on Main Street at Route 9D.
